Refugee Response Team

Karen Green, a Temple Shalom member active with our Refugee Response Team, is a consultant who works with nonprofit boards in the Jewish world including synagogues, historical societies and family foundations to improve organizational governance. A link to an article published with HIAS is below: https://www.hias.org/blog/sister-i-never-had-syrian-refugee

February 2017 A new picture book details the journey of a five-year-old girl and her family from war-torn Syria to a new life in the United States. During their country’s devastating civil war, the young girl and her family were forced to leave their Syrian homeland and take refuge in Jordan. After four years of READ MORE >

January 2017 Nearly 85,000 refugees from around the world entered the United States in fiscal year 2016. Some of the newly arrived families are paired with a sponsoring organization to help them navigate their new country and settle in. Temple Shalom’s Refugee Response Team members have been working to get the word out about the READ MORE >

December 2016 As most Temple members know, the father of our co-sponsored Syrian refugee family has been actively searching for a job since he arrived in the U.S. a few months ago. He has been anxious to start employment in order to support his family of six. In fact, he has been working with Refugee READ MORE >

November 2016 This week, the Temple’s co-sponsored Syrian family took significant steps toward self-sufficiency. The father accepted a job building cabinets and counter tops and bought an inexpensive car from a neighbor to make the 20-minute drive to work. Within days, his employer decided they didn’t have the funds to support new employees and the READ MORE >

October 2016 Now that several Temple members have met and spent time with our sponsored Syrian family, language skills and cross cultural awareness are increasing by leaps and bounds in both directions. The family’s four children are quickly picking up American sayings, such as “See you” when someone leaves. “See you soon,” “See you Monday,” READ MORE >

September 2016 Late last month, Temple Shalom’s Refugee Response Team welcomed a Syrian family of six to the United States. The parents and their 5-, 11-, and 12-year-old girls and 9-year-old boy are settling in to their Riverdale, Md., apartment, which has been furnished and stocked by Temple volunteers and donors. The family is also READ MORE >

August 2016 Originally destined for Baltimore, our Syrian family of six was re-assigned to Temple Shalom when the congregation in Baltimore assigned to help them had to bow out. Late on August 25, the parents and their 5-, 11-, and 12-year-old girls and 9-year-old boy arrived at National Airport. With the help of our Lutheran READ MORE >